Ajax: the early years and the birth of Total Football - World Soccer World Soccer TAGS: Ajax Jack Reynolds Total Football Known in the Netherlands as ‘de Godenzonen’, a name that translates into English as ‘the sons of the Gods,’Ajax Amsterdam has, for the majority of their 112 year history, carried with them an almost messianic status, not only in their home nation, but across the world football spectrum. Venerated for their impact on football, Ajax’s influence on the game has far reaching roots that have grown over many decades. Widely recognised for producing some of the greatest Dutch talent to have played football, de Amsterdammers are fondly remembered for their great team of the 1970s, a side that achieved multiple success both domestically and in Europe, and, through their propagation of ‘Total Football,’ subsequently left a perpetual impression on the game. The history of FC Ajax is one that requires attention and respect. A hugely important club for many decades now, here is a side that has reached the highest summit possible in Holland and Europe, but also descended to such lows that one of football’s powers faced the possibility of being smothered by a cloud of obscurity.

Last season’s title win was their first since 2004, and this week’s repeat triumph confirmed their return as Holland’s foremost club. Along with much of Ajax’s history, the present and future looks a bright shade of rosy for this great side. And football is better off with a healthy Ajax Amsterdam. The club’s establishment came in 1900, and is credited to three men – Floris Stempel, Carel Reeser and Johan Dade. This was the second time the club had been founded, as six years earlier ‘Footh-Ball club Ajax’ ceased to exist. The second incarnation brought with it a change of name, and the club was now simply known as ‘Ajax,’ named after the Greek mythological hero. Following the club’s formation, another ten years passed by before it would reach Holland’s top league. The club had spent much of this period of time playing in the country’s second tier, before achieving promotion to the first division in 1911. It was in this year that the now iconic white and red kit was first used, a change brought about due to a kit clash with rivals Sparta Rotterdam.

Three years later the club would suffer it’s first, and to date only, relegation. In 1915, Englishman Jack Reynolds was hired to steer the side back up to the top flight. This decision would soon turn out to be one of the most judicious in the club’s history, as under his leadership, Ajax would achieve their first taste of domestic success, and along with it, the concept of ‘ Total Football ’ would be witnessed in Europe for the first time. Often cited as being pioneered by the great team of the 1970s, it was in fact this early Ajax side, under the guidance of a manager rich in tactical and technical knowledge, that introduced the European game to ‘totaalvoetbal.’ Following cup success in 1917, the club’s very first league title arrived in 1918, and in 1919, they secured their second successive crown, remarkably going the entire league campaign unbeaten. Expectations ascended following successive title victories, but the two league wins of ’18 and ’19 would prove to be a false storm, as Ajax’s escalation to the top of Dutch football would soon wane.

The club’s first period of decline arrived with the 1920s. Five baron years would pass, before the club would receive a huge blow, with news that Jack Reynolds was to leave to take over as manager at city rivals Blauw-Wit. Although a few regional titles were won, the national championship evaded them throughout this decade. The promise shown in the latter part of the previous decade was now long gone; and Ajax faced a fight against a plunge into obscurity. In 1928 however, Reynolds returned. With their adroit master now back in control, the future looked bright. The significance of his return was evident with the level of success the 1930s brought for Ajax. With players such as Wim Anderiesen and prolific goal scorer Piet van Reenen, Ajax dominated the domestic scene in Holland.This was their decade. This was their first ‘golden age.’ The club continued to add regional titles to their list of honours throughout the ‘30s; altogether, eight were won in this period. However, the haul of five national championships is what makes this a special decade for the club. Ajax was now Dutch football’s most eminent club.

The first title arrived in 1931, the second the following year. Just like with their two previous title wins, they were back to back. The first time this was achieved, it would be another twelve years before the next taste of title glory. The club would only have to wait another two years this time around. The title victory in 1934 meant that the league crown was wrestled back from the hands of the Go Ahead Eagles, rivals to Ajax for the Dutch championship at the start of the 1930s following victories in 1930 and 1933 (to date, this is the last time Go Ahead have won Holland’s top league). There would be another wait of two years before Ajax would be league champions again. In this time, PSV (1935) and Feyenoord (1936) would win. For the next five years, Ajax and Feyenoord would go onto trade titles. This period of time saw the primitive stage of a football rivalry that would go onto be Dutch football’s most passionate, heated and at times, controversial.

Prior to the title win in 1934, Ajax relocated to the ‘De Meer’ stadium, their home until the opening of the Amsterdam ArenA in 1996. It wouldn’t be long until the stadium’s trophy cabinet had two more trophies inside it – the 1937 and 1939 league crowns. The end of the 1930s brought a chance for a thorough reflection on what a hugely successful period. Here was a decade where so much had been achieved; five national championship and eight regional titles were won, placing Ajax at the top of Dutch football’s elite. Here was a club that played ‘total football,’ and a club that had players gripped by idolatry. Ajax was now an iconic club, and their mark on Dutch football history had been made. The 1940s however, was a far less progressive decade. World War Two had put football, and much else, to the back of people’s thoughts. Not even football could influence people’s priorities at such a time.

With the euphoria of the 1930s still prevalent amongst much of Amsterdam’s inhabitants, 1940 would act as a thumping strike that would bring Ajax fans back down to earth. The title was won by rivals Feyenoord, but worse than this was the capture of Jack Reynolds by the Nazis, following their occupation of Amsterdam in 1940. Reynolds would remain a POW until the conclusion of war. The club won the Dutch cup for only the second time in 1943, but victory would receive a subdued response, as Europe was still crippled by the pain and fear of the war. Plunged to the depths of despair by the ‘Hunger Winter’ of 1944, football in Holland around this time became obsolete. With the conclusion of war in 1945, Dutch football was in a state of repair. The previous five years would have made it difficult to imagine football ever returning to what it had become prior to war. But in a sense, football had a ‘duty’ to potentially distract people from the atrocities of what had just hit them.

The first 45 years of Ajax’s existence was suffused with moments that had created a giant in Dutch football. The next object: to achieve the same in Holland….and in Europe. By David Hastings TOTAL FOOTBALL : The Origin & The History TOTAL FOOTBALL : The Origin & The History Total Football is the base of every pressing based system and has been the reason behind the success of many great sides over the years. Total Football chan Published at 11:55 AM, 20 December, 2015 Pranav_Dogra share "They're playing like a basketball team", remarked one of the commentators. There was absolute silence, the home crowd was out of words. Wembley, indeed had just witnessed the "Match Of the Century." The score-line was 6-3. The "Mighty Magyars" had just decimated the third best side of the world. There was no stopping them. And with the World Cup looming large, it was a testament of their undeniable challenge for the crown. English media, who were so outrageously praising the technicality of their team's gameplay before the game, were short on words to describe what had just occurred.

The "Golden Team" of Hungary had defeated England in what was billed as the "Match of the Century". Meanwhile, they also became the first country (outside The Great Britain) to beat England on their home-soil. Hungary stamped its authority as a revolutionary in tactical football, and world had a new style of play to look for - "Total Football". In a post-match analysis, when problems were analyzed for the cause of defeat, blames were put on England's regular "WM" formation. Rather than zonal marking, man marking was preferred. Little did they know of the tactical advancements Hungary had made. A center back marking a center forward was dragged away to make way for creators from midfield, which in this case did wonders for Hungary. Within opening 30 minutes, Hungary were 4-1 up. When the match ended, Hungary had recorded 35 shots on target compared to 5 of England. There was something about this style that was charming to eyes, something that could keep the crowd on their toes the entire game. This was the birth of Total Football. Timeline of Total Football The concept of Total Football was coined by Jack Reynolds.

He remained with Ajax for a considerable period, and developed the philosophy there over the years, leading them to 8 Eredivisie titles, and 1 KNVB Cup in his 3 stints there. He actually set the base for the evolution of the system. Rinus Michels, however gets the credit for exploiting all the boundaries of Total Football with his Ajax side of late 60s and then with the Dutch National Team. Total Football is a name given to a tactical setup in which no player has a fixed position, any outfield player can take up role of any other outfield player. No position is fixed except the goalkeeper's. It was first implemented by Jack Reynolds in Ajax, enhanced by Jimmy Hogan with the Austrian National Team, modified by Gusztáv Sebes with his Hungary side , and pioneered by Ajax, and later the Dutch National Team. In Total Football, a player who moves out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus keeping the team structured. It is a physically demanding setup. It demands players toiling over the field for retaining possession, creating space, making runs. In-fact their off-the-ball movements dictate the tempo of the game.

Over the years, so many sides have implemented the Total Football brand, but not all of them have found success. Some tinkering has also been performed on the system, but the basic idea of possession-based football is same all around. Certain sides immortalized the “Total Football” brand adjacent to their name, and they did so by playing beautifully, meanwhile the rest of the world looked enviously towards them. Hungary Around the 1950s, Hungary was dominating the football world. Total Football was their theme, and the architect was Gusztáv Sebes. Inspired by Jimmy Hogan's’ Austrian side, there wasn’t any doubt in Sebes’ mind as how he was going to approach managing his team's game. After being given full authority of the National team, he imposed a certain training regime that was same for every outfield player. He wanted them to carry same weight, do equal amount of sprints, and demanded them to be physically stronger. What he had in mind was not a particular position, or a particular player, it was a group of players of which anyone could roam anywhere on the pitch to effect the games, and each outfield player was to be aware of the job an attacker, midfielder or a defender has to do.

The side boasted the likes of Ferenc Puskás, Sándor Kocsis and Nándor Hidegkuti in their ranks. Puskás (who’s regarded as one of the greatest of all times) was utilized as a wide forward paired alongside Nándor Hidegkuti, who used to play as deep-lying center forward. During those times, football was more of a structured game, and no tinkering was generally done with formations. Sebes wanted something else, he wanted a systematic fluency that can be materialized on field. He wanted all of his outfield players to be same, in terms of attributes. His side mainly revolved around a 4-2-4 and sometimes a 2-3-3-2 formation. In the span of 6 years (before Hungarian Revolution broke out in 1956) they went on win 42 games, drew 7 games, while lost just once. In between they won the Gold Medal in 1952 Olympics, and defeated Italy in finals of the Central European Championship to win the tournament.

They still hold the record of being undefeated for 4 consecutive years, until their run was ended by West Germany in finals of the 1954 World Cup. That remains the only dark spot, in what presumably was a fairy tale for the Hungarians. Ajax & The Netherlands When Rinus Michels took over the Ajax side in 1965, they were one of the relegation contenders. The task wasn’t easy. But that became easy when a certain Johan Cryuff started catching attention of many. Michels had found a perfect artillery for his attack. From a 13th place finish in previous season, Ajax won the Championship, and repeated the feat next year, along side winning the KNVB cup. They reached the European Cup final in 1969 only to lose out to AC Milan. However, Ajax did win the European Cup consecutively in 1971, 1972 and 1973, and became only the second team after Real Madrid to do so.

During this era Ajax played some of their finest football ever, achieving home wins (46–0–0) for two full seasons (1971–72 and 1972–73), and just one defeat in the whole of the 1971–72 season. Rinus Michels left for Barcelona in 1971. Johan Cryuff followed him in 1973, and they helped Barcelona win the league title (their first since 1960). There, he laid the foundation for the possession-based football which worked as a base for so many great Barcelona sides over the years. Following a sudden vacancy, Michels was asked to fill in as the coach of the National Side for the upcoming World Cup. He agreed and the Dutch side entered the tournament as favourites. Their style of play was second to none. So much movement among players used to wear out the opposition, and with Cryuff in their side, the Dutch were proving impossible to handle. Easily cruising through the group stages, they entered the final against West Germany. The Germans, being the host nation carried certain advantages over the Dutch side.

It was billed an even battle with West Germany boasting the likes of Sepp Maier, Gerd Muller and Franz Beckenbauer. 3 minutes into first half, the Germans were 1 goal down, and they hadn’t even touched the ball. Such was the artistry of the Dutch side. However they went on to lose the purpose later, when they tried to humiliate West Germany in front of their home crowd by a string of passing moves, without creating any significant openings. Meanwhile, West Germany brought themselves back level from the penalty spot, and Gerd Muller scored the winner in the 43rd minute. Netherlands pushed hard for an equalizer but all in vain. The ‘entertainers’ of the tournament fell short of what would’ve been a fairy tale ending. However they did avenge the defeat in the 1988 European Championship, when the two sides met again in the semifinals, and Rinus Michels was again managing the Dutch Side. This time West Germany took the lead, but Netherlands came from behind to beat the hosts. Netherlands went on to win the tournament.

For his enormous contribution to the footballing world, Rinus Michels was named FIFA Coach of the Century in 1999. His foundations are still going strong, with his disciples carrying the legacy forward. Total Football has changed a lot over the years. Against quick counter attacking football, roaming on the pitch is difficult, and hence every player has a proper job to do in modern day sides, except maybe for 1 or 2 players who can enjoy free roles in the team. A general misconception exists about the 'Tiki-Taka' and Total Football styles and both appear as the same to many people. However it is not so. Tiki Taka only uses the base of Total football which is keeping possession, and rotating the ball. It doesn’t provide any player freedom, as is the case with Total Football. In simple words, Tiki Taka is a restricted version of Total Football, which relies on pinpoint passing (short & quick), and which only allows certain players to roam freely rather than all of the outfield players. To say the least, total football is the base of every pressing based system. To put pressure on opposition, constant possession and movements are needed, and Total Football implies just that.

However it has to be readjusted and restructured according to the needs and demands of the modern day game, and the abilities of the opposition. World Football: The 5 Greatest Tactical Innovations in Football History | Bleacher Report World Football: The 5 Greatest Tactical Innovations in Football History Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse the slideshow David Cannon/Getty Images 3 Comments Tactics have always been a subject for football analysts to feast upon. Looking at the nuances of the beautiful game and the tactical fumblings of football managers enchants many of us who watch. Managers come and go, but some leave a lasting legacy, mostly based on success, but sometimes, a manager brings about a tactical revolution, which leads to a widespread assessment of how professional football is played. Herbert Chapman's Counter-Attacking Style of Play at Arsenal Dino Panato/Getty Images In 1930, Arsenal manager and visionary Herbert Chapman won the FA Cup against his old club Huddersfield Town , 2-0. This was the crowning glory of Chapman's reign, where he cemented his legacy in the history of Arsenal and football.

He created a side that boasted the likes of Ted Drake, Alex James and Eddie Hapgood among others. His "Invincibles" were to be defeated by Wallsall, a lowly Third Division side costing only 69 pounds in total. Chapman is remembered more for his tactical innovations than the great side he created. Chapman introduced floodlights, physiotherapy and passing play as well as encouraging the first European competition. Chapman's main invention however was the 3-4-3 formation, aptly named the W-M for the way players line up in a formation which spells out the two aforementioned letters. This was a variation on the 2-3-5 formation of the time, which entailed getting a player form the midfield to help the defence and pushing the inside left and inside right back to the area which we would now call attacking midfield. To accomplish his ideal, Chapman bought Alex James from Preston North End and deployed him as a creative inside left. He then brought in David Jack from Bolton Wanderers to play alongside him. He already had Hulm and Cliff Bastin to use as wingers.

He told his players to sit deep and allow them possession in the Arsenal half, but never let them make any headway. This was very effective against the style of play most English clubs favored (the emphasis then being on dribbling and beating people and crossing, which Chapman's counterattacking system did not allow to happen). After quickly dispossessing the opponent whilst they were still forward, his Arsenal side went up the pitch with pace and quick passing techniques. This was the first prototype of a counter-attcking system which was to be used several times in the future and won more trophies that Chapman could ever have imagined. This was his greatest legacy. Next » Catenaccio and Herrara's Internazionale Catenaccio is a tactical system associated primarily with Argentinian tactician Helenio Herrara of Internazionale Milano and Barcelona. However, it was first dreamed up by Swiss coach Karl Rappan, who called it the Verrou, referring to the Verouilleur, or sweeper, who played played as the 1 in his 1-3-3-3 formation, in the 1940s and '50s.

Rappan's Verrou was the modern 4-3-3, except one center-back played as a sweeper and one winger dropped off slightly to the wide attacking midfield role, making it sort of like a 4-4-2. The first true form of Catenaccio was in fact used by then-Padova coach Nereo Rocco during the '50s. The first display of Rocco's Catenaccio was at Triestina in 1947, where he managed to get the club to second place playing Catenaccio. Helenio Herrara came to Internazionale to find a team already equipped with great talents. Sandro Mazzola, their talisman, was a great creative midfield talent to rival Gianni Rivera (pictured in 2010) from up the road. Giacinto Fachetti was a great attacking left-back, who pioneered this role, in fact. The tricky Brazilian winger Jair also formed part of this side. With him, Herrera brought Spanish midfield maestro Luis Suarez of Barcelona fame. He had formed La grande Inter.

With Jair as the winger in the front three who dropped off, (see Rappan), Mazzola acting as an early type of support striker and Suarez marshaling the midfield, Herrara had his great system. He went on to win three Serie A titles, two European Cups and two Intercontinental cups in his Inter tenure. Herrara's system drew attention. Now managers alll over the world were looking to counter it. In 1970, Inter reached the European Cup final again, this time facing Jock Stein's Celtic , a team which had wing wizards Tommy Gemmell and Jimmy Johnstone. This time, Catenaccio did not pay off. Although Mazzola converted a penalty which put Inter in the lead before Half-time, Stein's hitherto considered primitive provincial approach paid off as Gemmell equalized and Johnstone won it for Celtic. However, this was considered a freak result rather than a tactical victory. But Herrara's shrewd system was ripped to shreds by a new style that came along in 1971 ...

Rinus Michels' Total Football Getty Images/Getty Images Like many other tactical systems, this idea is not completely unique to Rinus Michels, the one who popularized it. A very early prototype of his idea originated from legendary English coach Jimmy Hogan. This idea was taken up and developed by his protege, Hugo Meisl, who used it to develop his Wunderteam with Matthias Sindelar as the heartbeat of the side and Bican in attack. Another of Hogan's pupils (and perhaps his most famous), the Hungarian Gustav Szebes, put this into practice as coach of the Hungarian "Mighty Magyars." The Magyar's defeat of Hogan's countrymen in 1953 at Wembley highlighted the power this system had and how variations and further development of it would bring about more such humiliations to opponents. The Hungarians' off the ball movement, switching of positions and their trickery of passing left the opponent dumbfounded (Stan Cullis was at his prime then in England, so long-ball was still prevalent). England were beaten 5-3.

Although Honved (containing many of the "Mighty Magyars") were defeated by Wolves later in the year, the Magyars almost completely dominated their era, finishing runners up at the World Cup to underdogs Germany in 1954. The Hungarian system was a 3-2-3-2, similar to the 5-3-2 system in use almost 40 years later. Szebes pioneered the use of the deep lying forward with the star of his team, Ferenc Puskas, and introduced to the world the idea that players could play in more than one position. Also, most of the Hungarian players had played with each other from a young age (for Honved) and so they knew each other's game perfectly. Sound familiar? Following the '60s (The Catenaccio decade), a new team came to the fore: Ajax Amsterdam. This side, coached by Rinus Michels, played a kind of football that had only been played by the Mighty Magyars before. However, Michels added discipline to the Total Football template and introduced the concept of a hard- working pressing game.

He used a 4-3-3 formation at Ajax with Cruijff, like Puskas before him, the centre point of the side. With this side, he won three European Cups in a row as well as several domestic trophies. In 1974, Michels took over the Dutch national side, where he molded his talents into a total football unit like his club and brought onto the world stage the idea of Total Football. With Cruyff as the talisman, Neeskens and Haan in Midfield and Krol and Suurbier as the fullbacks, Holland entranced the world with their total football, only to lose to Germany in the final of the 1974 World Cup. Michels' protege Johan Cruyff then took up management and instituted Michels' philosophy at Barcelona, his former club. He created the Dream Team, which in 1992 won the European Cup playing Total Football. It had Koeman in defence, Laudrup in midfield and Romario and Stoichkov in attack. His midfield water carrier was a young man called Josep Guardiola, who seemed destined for greatness on and off the pitch. But more on that later.

As for Michels, he took over the Dutch national reins again in 1988 and won the European Championships with Holland. Guardiola's Total Football David Ramos/Getty Images Josep Guardiola attained fame as a great defensive midfielder in Johan Cruyff's "Dream Team," composed mainly of Catalan players / homegrown players who had played together for some time and were used to each others playing style. With this philosophy in mind, Guardiola took over FC Barcelona in 2008, replacing Dutch manager Frank Rijkaard. Since the time of Cruyff, Barcelona had started working on the cantera vs. cartera philosophy (academy vs. wallet; a nod to Real Madrid 's spending sprees). They had invested heavily in La Masia, and since the time of Guardiola, players like Xavi, Iniesta and Puyol replaced Ferrer, Bakero and Guardiola. They were all educated in the Cruyff philosophy, or shall we say, the Barcelona philosophy. Upon taking charge, Guardiola quickly noticed the strength of the La Masia academy and started to give homegrown players a chance, all the while dismantling Rijkaard's side of International stars.

Soon, players like Sergio Busquets and Pedro Rodriguez Ledesma were in the first team. He integrated then rising star Lionel Messi into the team as well, all the while following the Cruijff template. He bought international talent as well, signing Daniel Alves from Sevilla and David Villa from Valencia. His Trophy Cabinet now has two Champions Leagues. His team is now acclaimed as the best team ever to play football. This may be true, but tactically, he uses (mostly) the same Michels tactics which were brought to the fore by Ajax in the early '70s (allowing for today's different rules, of course). His team combines supreme technical quality with unwavering discipline. Their pressing rivals that of Ajax and their statsitical dominance has been unparalleled. This team is the culmination of Hogan's vision all those years ago. Ajax: Dutch club opens 'School of the Future' - CNN.com Ajax: Dutch club opens 'School of the Future' By Rosanne Roobeek and Gary Morley, CNN Updated 0930 GMT (1730 HKT) October 15, 2015 Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.

Photos: The ultimate football school? Ajax is a club renowned for producing talented soccer players at its "De Toekomst" (or "the future") youth academy. Hide Caption 1 of 18 Photos: The ultimate football school? Ajax has won the European Cup four times, but its relatively small budget in comparison to Europe's other leading clubs, means a key part of its strategy is to develop young talented players that will be then be sold. Hide Caption 2 of 18 Photos: The ultimate football school? Now as well as developing players' skills on the pitch, the club's aspiring pros can now receive education at a dedicated school. Here the new building school building is officially opened by Ajax marketing director Edwin Van der Sar (second left), who was a former goalkeeper of the Dutch club, as well as Juventus and Manchester United. Hide Caption 3 of 18 Photos: The ultimate football school? "The focus of the Ajax School is the players' 'kitchen' -- which is both teaching space and congregating space," said Steven Lawrence, an advisor to Ajax. If young players fail to make the grade on the pitch, they will always be able to fall back on the diploma they earn from the school.

Hide Caption 4 of 18 Photos: The ultimate football school? The training ground complex comprises nine football fields and is located close to the Amsterdam ArenA. Its main field has seating capacity for 2,000 people. Hide Caption 5 of 18 Photos: The ultimate football school? The club's groundbreaking philosophy of "Total Football" in 1970 was pioneered by legendary coach Rinus Michels, who guided the team to a European Cup win in 1971, before leaving to coach Barcelona. Under new coach Stefan Kovacs, Ajax also won the European Cup in 1972 and 1973. Hide Caption 6 of 18 Photos: The ultimate football school? Johan Cruyff is arguably the greatest player produced by Ajax and the three-time Ballon d'Or winner epitomized the idea of "Total Football." Hide Caption 7 of 18 Photos: The ultimate football school? The 1973 Ajax European Cup team poses for a photograph.

Front row left to right, Sjaak Swart, Johnny Rep, coach Stephan Kovacs, trainer Bob Haarms, Ger Kleton, Jan Mulder, Cruyff and Gerrie Muhren. Back row, left to right, Arie Haan, Horst Blankenburg, Sies Wever, Wim Suurbier, goalkeeper Heinz Stuy, Piet Keizer, Ruud Krol, Heinz Schilcher, Arnold Muhren, Johan Neeskens and Barry Hulshoff. Hide Caption 8 of 18 Photos: The ultimate football school? Cruyff (picture center front row) then joined Barcelona from Ajax. The Dutchman went on to coach the Catalan club and is widely credited with helping instil the importance of youth development at Barcelona. Hide Caption 9 of 18 Photos: The ultimate football school? Part of the young Ajax team that conquered European in 1995, goalkeeper Van Der Sar wanted to give something back to the club. He now works as the club's marketing director. Hide Caption 10 of 18 Photos: The ultimate football school?

The team Van der Sar played in won European club football's biggest prize -- the Champions League -- under Louis Van Gaal two decades ago. A 1-0 win over AC Milan was rich reward for a youthful team playing an exciting brand of attacking football. The average age of the team which took to the field in Vienna was 23. Patrick Kluivert (right) scored the decisive goal. Hide Caption Photos: The ultimate football school? Van Gaal, now Manchester United manager, is pictured holding aloft the European Cup. Hide Caption 12 of 18 Photos: The ultimate football school? If the club now struggles to compete with Europe's elite teams it remains al a powerful force in the Dutch league. Under the guidance of Frank de Boer, a veteran of the '95 team, it continues to win domestic titles. Hide Caption 13 of 18 Photos: The ultimate football school? Alongside De Boer is another member of the class of '95. Dennis Bergkamp was a product of Ajax's youth academy who made the move abroad -- to Inter Milan. After a difficult time in Italy, Bergkamp joined Arsenal and excelled.

Now assistant manager to De Boer, Bergkamp is renowned and revered as one of Arsenal's greatest ever players. Hide Caption 14 of 18 Photos: The ultimate football school? Belgium's Jan Vertonghen made his debut for Dutch champions Ajax in 2006. Before moving to English Premier League club Spurs, the Belgian studied sport marketing at the Johan Cruyff University in between his training and matches. Hide Caption 15 of 18 Photos: The ultimate football school? The school over looks the first-team training pitch and the club's stadium, the Amsterdam Arena -- inspiring a new generation to emulate their heroes. Hide Caption Photos: The ultimate football school? Ajax play their home games at the Amsterdam ArenA. Hide Caption 17 of 18 Photos: The ultimate football school? Given the Netherlands' exit from Euro 2016, perhaps the Dutch will be hoping that Ajax's school might play a part in reviving the fortunes of their national team. Hide Caption Is Barcelona the Greatest Soccer Team Ever? Is Barcelona the Greatest Soccer Team Ever?

By Jimmy Burns On 6/3/11 at 6:15 PM Barcelona forward Lionel Messi blazes past two Man U midfielders at the Champions League final. Glyn Kirk / AFP-Getty Images World There were chants aplenty at the Champions League final May 28 between FC Barcelona and Manchester United, but few resonated as much as the mantra mockingly repeated by thousands of Barca fans all the way from London’s Wembley Stadium to Barcelona’s Plaça de Catalunya: “Por qué, por qué, por qué, por qué?” Why, why, why, why? It was a question asked less than a month earlier by José Mourinho, the controversial manager of Barca’s main Spanish club rival, Real Madrid, and the game’s agent provocateur. Mourinho had voiced the rhetorical plaint during an angry press conference after his team lost the Spanish league and was en route to being eliminated from the Champions League. The only reason Barca was more successful than his team, Mourinho implied, was that they were good at getting referees on their side, thanks to their theatrics on the field.

And by theatrics, Mourinho meant the ease with which Barca players allegedly faked falls or injuries in response to every tackle by an opponent. But the paranoid Mourinho has had to eat his hat. FC Barcelona’s 3–1 victory over the English champions United involved no diving and minimum interference by the referee against either side. Instead, a massive global audience was treated to a sublime lesson in sportsmanship, recognized by commentators worldwide, not least among them United’s widely respected manager, Sir Alex Ferguson. In a week when the sport’s power politics elsewhere turned ugly in the wake of corruption allegations against FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, this was a players-only performance that made fans around the world marvel. Ferguson, the doyen of soccer managers, said that in his 25 years in the United hot seat, this was the best team he had ever faced. Try Newsweek for only $1.25 per week Some think this would suggest that Barca is certainly better than United’s own best team of the 1998–99 season, which became the first English side to win a treble of trophies (Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League) with a roster that included an evolving young star named David Beckham.

For lovers of the “beautiful game,” Barca’s onslaught against Manchester United was soccer played at its best, with huge skill and minimum thuggery. The focus of Barcelona’s play was on possession of the ball (or on winning it back during the rare moments it was lost), then attacking with an intricate choreography of precise, short passes where players moved on and off the ball in constant, fluid movement. In the words of Simon Barnes, chief sports writer at the London Times, “all soccer people turned instantly into ballet critics to applaud a style of play that had an aesthetic dimension as well as being admirably, if not lethally, suited for the purpose of attaining victory.” United found themselves outclassed, which is no easy feat, considering that the English club is one of the top three in the world, along with Real Madrid. But United had no antidote to the precision and pace of Barca’s little geniuses—Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta—as they passed the ball through the middle of the pitch. Nor could the Brits stop the mesmerizing dribbling of tiny Lionel Messi, who has been crowned the best player of all time by a growing band of football pundits.

But it was not just Barca’s so-called trinity that shone brightly—the whole team moved with a kind of poetry in motion that was as pleasing to the eye as it was effective. It was a team in which four talented internationals—Brazil’s Danny Alves, Argentina’s Javier Mascherano, France’s Éric Abidal, and David Villa, formerly of Spain’s Valencia club—fit seamlessly beside players who have been together since they were teenagers. Barcelona with the champions’ trophy. Lluis Gene / AFP-Getty Images Both the team’s style of play and its work ethos bears the personal stamp of club coach Pep Guardiola, himself a former footballer whose bygone Barca team was, until May 28, considered by a majority of fans to be the greatest in history. Guardiola has been the first to admit that he owes much of his expertise to Johan Cruyff, the Dutchman who coached Barca to its first-ever European Cup trophy in 1992 with a dream-team combination of foreign stars and homegrown talent.

Cruyff is credited with introducing Barca to the concept of “total football,” which he learned as a player with the Dutch champions Ajax, who won three consecutive European Cups between 1971 and ’73. Cruyff’s versatile system had, at its heart, the so-called central axis: the center forward and a free central midfielder were in constant contact as if connected by an invisible cord. Remaining static was not an option. The system was designed to produce a seamless rhythm of attack in which all 11 players, including the goalkeeper, were responsible for keeping the ball moving forward. Guardiola improved upon and finessed Cruyff’s total football, and the fruits of his labor were more than evident in Barca’s win against United. So just how great is Barca? Cruyff himself has admitted the current team surpasses his ’92 dream team. But how does it stack up against the other greatest teams of all time? At club level, if Barca’s enduring enemy, Real Madrid, refuses to be daunted, it is because they have their own track record as one of most successful clubs in international soccer.

While Guardiola has won two European Cups in his three years as a coach, Real Madrid won five consecutive European Cup trophies between 1956 and ’60. Real’s then-president Santiago Bernabéu—a political conservative but a visionary when it came to soccer—was the first to put together a team of foreign superstars supplemented by talented locals. The quality of his team was epitomized by the flair and aggression of the Argentine Alfredo Di Stefano and his partner in attack, the Hungarian Ferenc Puskás. Between them, the two players scored seven goals in Real Madrid’s crushing victory over German champions Eintracht Frankfurt in 1960, regarded at the time, and for many years thereafter, as the best European Cup final ever. Gallery: World Cup Faces Then there’s the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, where Brazil emerged as a glorious conqueror.

As veteran soccer journalist Brian Glanville puts it in his history of the tournament: “For all the appalling problems of heat and altitude, all the preceding threat of violent negative play,” the Brazilians triumphed “with a panache, elegance and enterprise which raised new hope for attacking football.” The ’70 World Cup was particularly memorable for the sheer magic produced by Brazil’s superstar, Pelé. Close to retirement, Pelé reached the climax of a brilliant career playing for his country and club side Santos in a final against Italy that was also his apotheosis. With unrivaled skill and effectiveness, he scored a superb goal and helped create two others, fulfilling in that one game all the promise of the previous 12 years. Two decades later, Italian football’s AC Milan made its own bid for greatness, having briefly crossed over from a negative defensive strategy to the light of “total football.” It won two successive European Cups (1989–90) with a rare combination of attacking soccer imported by its Dutch players and the strict “pressing” of Italian defense known as catenaccio.

There are other outside contenders: Bayern Munich in 1974–76; Liverpool in 1977–81; Argentina in 1986 where Maradona scored the best goal ever seen; Spain, in the finals of last summer’s World Cup (in which eight Barca players won winners’ medals), although there is a general consensus in the football world that the club games, rather than the tournaments between national teams, have become the true measure of excellence. Reaching a definite verdict on whether this Barca is better than the greats that came before it is ultimately impossible, given the changing nature of football as a sport over the years. Today, stars face physical and psychological challenges that could not have been dreamed of back in the days of Pelé: the sheer volume of matches, the strictness of training programs, the commercial and media frenzy. Still, when asked if today’s Barca is the greatest of all time, coach Guardiola answers: “I didn’t see the Ajax of Johan Cruyff, I didn’t see the Real Madrid of Di Stefano and the Santos of Pelé.

But if in 10 or 15 years’ time people remember us for the soccer that we are playing now, that will make me very happy.” Burns is a journalist, and author of Barca: A People’s Passion (Bloomsbury). Correction: Manchester United won its three trophies during the 1998-99 season, not 1989-90. Postscript: Johan Cruyff, Total Footballer - The New Yorker Postscript: Johan Cruyff, Total Footballer By March 24, 2016 Johan Cruyff’s ability to read the game was unsurpassed, but it wasn’t just his solo skills that set him apart.CreditPhotograph by Imago / BPI / Shutterstock / REX On April 9, 1975, Leeds United, then the best football team in England, hosted a match against Barcelona, the famous Spanish club, in the semifinal of the European Cup—the precursor to the Champions League, in which Europe’s top clubs compete.

That drizzly evening, my father took me to Elland Road, Leeds’s home ground, where Johan Cruyff, the greatest player in the world, led Barca onto the pitch in their famous blue-and-purple-striped jerseys. From our perch in the east-side stands known as Lowfields, I strained to get a closer look. Of course, I wanted Leeds, my team, to win its two-game series against Barcelona, en route to its first-ever European Cup final. But for a twelve-year-old football nut, to have the privilege of seeing Cruyff, the Dutch master, was beyond thrilling. At the time, I often played soccer three times a day—twice at school, and again afterward. On weekends, I would play all day. Cruyff was, for me, the ultimate footballer. At Ajax Amsterdam, where he had played from 1964 to 1973, he established himself as a wonderfully creative player. He could gain control of the ball in an instant; he could pass short or long; he could dribble effortlessly, dropping his shoulder to swerve past defenders; he could score with the inside and outside of both feet.

And he could do all of this from practically anywhere on the pitch. Nominally, he was a center forward, his team’s primary striker. But in an era when most soccer players, even the very best ones, stuck rigidly to their positions, Ajax’s manager, Rinus Michels, encouraged Cruyff to roam at will. One minute he would dash into the penalty box to take a shot. Then you’d see him picking up the ball from his goalkeeper, or taking a free kick, or directing his colleagues from midfield. His positional sense and ability to read the game were unsurpassed. The sportswriter David Miller called him “Pythagoras in boots.” But it wasn’t just Cruyff’s solo skills that set him apart: he made his teammates better. Under the leadership of Michels, and later as a manager himself, he helped to perfect the fluid playing style known as Total Football, in which, rather than executing set plays and chasing down long passes, players constantly exchanged positions, moving into open space and making sharp passes in order to flummox the opposing team’s defense. With Cruyff as its orchestrator, this style of play wasn’t just effective: it was beautiful to watch.

Total Football wasn’t an entirely new concept. During the nineteen-fifties, the Hungarian national team had pioneered some of its elements, as had the great club sides Real Madrid, of Spain, and Santos, of Brazil, and also, strange as it may sound, Burnley F.C., which won the English league title in 1960. But it was Michels’s Ajax, with Cruyff as its fulcrum and inspiration, that perfected the free-flowing method of play. Ajax won successive European Cup victories in 1971, 1972, and 1973, making its opposition look leaden and flat-footed. The Dutch team, which was largely made up of Ajax players, adopted the same style of play, and at the 1974 World Cup, which was held in West Germany, it dazzled its way to the final against the host nation, knocking out Argentina, East Germany, and the defending champions, Brazil, in the process. Now here he was in West Yorkshire, a slim figure with collar-length brown hair. In 1973, he had moved from Ajax to Barcelona in exchange for a record transfer fee of roughly two million dollars.

At the time, the Catalan club was overshadowed by Real Madrid, but the money it had spent on Cruyff was turning out to be a sound investment. Barcelona won La Liga in his first season, which had qualified the team for the European Cup and brought him to Leeds. Thankfully for me and the fifty thousand other Leeds fans who were at the match, Cruyff didn’t have one of his better nights. Rather than playing Total Football, Barcelona adopted a defensive posture, evidently hoping to escape with a tie and win the second leg of the contest back home. Leeds took the match, two goals to one; a few weeks later, it played Barcelona to a draw in Spain and booked its ticket to the final. (Alas, my team lost, two-nil, to Bayern Munich.) Reviewing that game in Leeds on YouTube today, I was struck anew, despite Barcelona’s loss, by Cruyff’s pace and movement, and his acute sense of what was happening around him. At one point, he appeared behind his own defense to clear the ball. In the second half, he set up his team’s goal and almost created another. Cruyff never did win the European Cup while playing for Barcelona.

But in 1992, as the club’s manager, he led it to its first European title. Indeed, it was as a manager that he cemented his position as one of the most influential figures in football history. First at Ajax, in the mid-nineteen-eighties, and then at Barcelona, from 1988 to 1996, he took the strategic principles that Michels had taught him and added some touches of his own—for example, by deploying a diamond formation in midfield. Always, however, he emphasized the basics of Total Football: technical skills (which he believed had to be taught at an early age), movement, pace, and flexibility. “In my teams, the goalie is the first attacker, and the striker is the first defender,” he said. As Cruyff’s principles proved successful, other coaches copied or adapted them. On Thursday, Pep Guardiola, who led Barcelona to enormous success while managing the club from 2008 to 2012, said that Cruyff “painted the chapel, and Barcelona coaches since have merely restored or improved it.” The religious metaphor was fitting.

“Cruyff’s admirers don’t just like the way he and his teams played. They believe the world could be a better place if his vision of football prevailed. Cruyffian football, they feel, is more beautiful, more fun and more spiritual than other approaches,” David Winner wrote earlier this month, in an insightful Bleacher Report piece called “The Church of Cruyff.” You can find me in the Cruyffian pews, too, but it is as a player, rather than as a manager, that I will primarily remember him. In the very first minute of the 1974 World Cup final , which was played in Munich, he received a pass near the halfway line. With almost the entire West German team between him and the goal, there was no apparent threat. But after quickly controlling the ball Cruyff accelerated like a hare, swerved past one German player, slipped between two others, and darted into the penalty area, where he was tripped up. The referee called a foul, and Johan Neeskens (another fine player, if not quite in Cruyff’s class) stepped up to the penalty spot and scored.

The Dutch were up a goal before a German player had even touched the ball. After that stunning opening, the Dutch team appeared to slacken, and the Germans, to the horror of my eleven-year-old self, and other Cruyff devotees everywhere, came back to win, two to one. Our hero was named the player of the tournament, though. Twenty-five years later, the International Federation of Football History & Statistics voted him the European Player of the Century. Was he better than Pelé or Maradona or Lionel Messi? The arguments will go on forever. But he was certainly on their level, and his artistry was appreciated well beyond his sport. “Cruyff was a better dancer than Nureyev,” the Dutch choreographer Rudi van Dantzig once remarked. “He was a better mover.” John Cassidy has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1995. He also writes a column about politics, economics, and more for newyorker.com.

Question: Which club team is regarded as the first to have pioneered the concept of total football?
Answer: AJAX